This kind of thing happens more than people admit. We spend all our time on regular service, oil changes, filters, greasing, but we don't think about bearings until one screams at us on the shoulder of a highway. Same story with a lot of stuff in life, like your water heater at home. It works fine for 15 years and then one morning there's a puddle in the garage and you're calling somebody at 7am. The part that failed was probably ten bucks. Running just the water pump belt to get to Loves was a smart move because the water pump is the one thing you truly can't run without, and at 35 mph with hazards you kept the heat low and gave yourself room to pull over if it let go. Nobody plans for a parking lot alternator swap, but having the tools and a little know-how turned a tow bill into a 90 minute job. You didn't get lucky as much as you stayed calm and thought it through, which is really the whole skill when something breaks out on the road.